By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is seeking for the gradual return of rice import tariff rate from the current 15% back to 35% as an abrupt increase could undermine efforts to bring down the staple’s price.

In a statement issued Thursday, Tiu Laurel, citing his testimony at the House of Representatives’ Murang Pagkain Super Committee hearing last Wednesday, said that he recommended to the Tariff Commission that future increases in the rice import duty should be “strategically timed to minimize its impact on both local and global markets.”

“Our suggestion is a gradual increase…eventually returning to the 35% duty,” Tiu Laurel said.

The Agriculture chief warned that an abrupt 20-percentage-point hike could disrupt the rice market and undermine government efforts to stabilize prices since last year. 

“A sudden increase could shock not only the local market but also ripple across the global rice trade,” he said.

Tiu Laurel said the Philippines, as one of the world’s major rice importers, plays a significant role in global rice pricing due to its demand-supply as well as regulatory dynamics.

To recall, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., under Executive Order 62 issued in June 2024, lowered tariff rates for rice to 15% until 2028 from 35%.

The current 15% tariff, a temporary in response to El Niño and India’s rice export ban last year, remains under review.

Marcos’ decision to reduce the rice tariff triggered a series of initiatives, including the introduction of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on 5% broken imported rice. 

These measures brought down rice prices and contributed to significantly slowdown inflation.

Rice inflation clocked in at -12.8% in May and is expected to average at a negative rate for the whole of 2025. 

“To minimize the impact on the local market, we propose timing the tariff hike to coincide with the harvest seasons of our major suppliers—around late September for Vietnam and December for Pakistan,” Tiu Laurel said.

Vietnam remains as the Philippines’ largest rice supplier, although Marcos has directed efforts to diversify sources—including India and Pakistan—to ensure more stable and affordable imports, according to the DA chief.

While global rice prices remain lower than last year, they have recently begun to rise again, a trend analysts view as a market correction, said Tiu Laurel.

Nonetheless, the DA still plans to lower the MSRP on imported rice by P2 per kilo, reducing it to P43 starting July 1.

Since the MSRP was introduced in January, it has been reduced several times from the original P58 per kilo, in response to declining global prices and the reduced tariff. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: June 12, 2025